Seducing Her Brother's Friend

Confrontation

He tossed and turned all night, before sitting up and switching on the light to do some late reading. It helped put his mind at ease, making him see things more clearly. He tried to find other solutions but could only reach the same conclusion. There was only one explanation that made sense to him, and he hated it.

After much deliberation, Tyler finally decided that he was probably right. As much as he hated it, there was no denying that it all added up perfectly. Not in a good way, but a way that made sense.

He couldn't be one hundred percent sure - you never could be about anything. But he really believed his theory was correct.

The next morning he woke up, gave Max breakfast and waited until his dog was finished eating before cleaning the food bowl, filling the water bowl right after. He patted Max on the back gently, scratching behind the Golden's ears.

"I'll get you some new treats this afternoon," he told the dog.

Then he waited until his parents woke up.

"I have to talk to you."

Both of them looked at him, confused.

"It's very important," Tyler added. He watched them sit down on the couch next to each other. Good. This way he can confront them at the same time and not have to go through it twice. No need to waste any time.

"What is it, son?" asked his father.

Tyler began pacing. He walked back and forth in front of them.

"I spent hours going over it in my head last night. I know that I didn't cheat on Beatrice. Didn't bring any girl back home. There is no one who could have forgotten their underwear here. So how did the panties end up in my room? Someone must have placed it there somehow."

His mother interrupted. "Now hang on. You can't deny that-"

"Please let me finish, Mom. Just hear me out for now, okay?" he said curtly. His mother was quite surprised, for he never spoke to her this way before. "I then asked myself : Who would do that? Or rather, who would benefit from placing panties in my bedroom? Because people do things for a reason - they do things when they have something to gain. And the answer came to me - a person who wanted me and Beatrice to break up. And there is only one such person. Beatrice's overprotective father, Alan."

Both his mom and dad remained silent.

Tyler continued "Still, one thing puzzled me. How could he possibly have gotten access to my room? Only you two have access. It struck me then how neither of you seemed surprised at the notion of me cheating on my girlfriend. You two raised me yourselves. You should have known me better than to believe me guilty of being an unfaithful boyfriend."

He paused meaningfully.

"I'm not sure what you're insinuating here."

"How much did he pay you and mom to set me up?" His parents quickly looked at each other. "Please don't try to lie. I have never felt this upset but if you try to bullshit your way out of this, it would make me respect you even less than I do right now.

Tyler's mom sighed.

"I told you our boy is too smart for us to keep this hidden forever," she said to his dad. "Only one day and he has already figured it out."

"Flattery won't make everything alright, Mom," Tyler informed her.

"I'm really sorry, Tyler," the boy's father told him.

"How much?"

"$8,000"

Tyler sighed. He told them "I'm going to take Max on a walk."

"Won't you have breakfast first?"

"I'll eat a sandwich while walking. Come on, Max."

He grabbed his Golden's leash and took the dog outside for a walk like every other morning. The boy inhaled fresh air. He and his dog walked along their usual route, passing some familiar faces. The people who recognized them greeted him and he and his dog greeted them back, with Max being the far more enthusiastic one in the duo.

After about half an hour, Tyler decided they should head home.

"What do you think, buddy? Should I confront Beatrice's father about this?" Of course, his dog didn't answer. It would have been a miracle if Max did.

Tyler sighed.

He went back inside his house to find his parents sitting in the same position they were in when he and the dog left.

"Listen, Tyler. Your dad and I just talked about it. We decided we're going to give Alan back his money. We don't want it anymore."

His mother's words surprised him. He quickly recovered. "No," he said. "You already did that paranoid prick's work for him. Keep the money and use it for something good. No point in returning it when you can't turn back time."

The boy put away Max's leash and his Golden quickly went to drink some water. Tyler smiled fondly, bringing out a new squeaky toy for his canine friend.

"Here, I just bought this yesterday," he told his dog, handing it to him once he was done lapping up water. His dog started playing with the squeaky, bringing a smile to Tyler's face. He sat down, grabbing a brush and then brushing his dog.

His parents watched the boy and the dog with concern and guilt.

Tyler's dad was the one who wanted money - he had a gambling problem that he kept hidden from his wife and son. But having seen how it affected Tyler, he couldn't help but hate himself for his short-sightedness. Even when Tyler was in a seemingly better mood, he could tell the boy was hurting on the inside.

As for Tyler's mother, she didn't know what to say to him. It was her husband's decision to accept the money but she still went along with it, when she should have protested the idea.

She could only look at her son and hope things would go back to normal for them one day. As it was, she could tell it might not be anytime soon.

Later that day, he told them "I'll be back for dinner.'

Then he left the house, headed to a train station and boarded a train.

Author's Note : Here it is, people! What do you think will happen next?